Source: Flickr Commons
Imagine a world without smartphones …hard, isn’t it? How would you look up directions if you were lost? How would you know which restaurant is the best restaurant, or what time your bus is scheduled to arrive at? How would you instagram your food, tweet your thoughts, or check your emails on the fly? Most smartphone users would agree that life would be a whole lot tougher without iPhones or androids by our side. What is even harder to imagine is that smartphones may actually have harmful effects on human cognitive processes – or in simpler terms, how we think and solve problems.
Recent research conducted at the University of Waterloo found that cell phone usage is linked to “lazy thinking”, where people avoid thinking for themselves and instead use internet search engines such as Google, or app functions on their phones. Published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, this study looked at people who were either intuitive thinkers or analytical thinkers. Basically, intuitive thinking involves relying on instincts or the so-called “gut feeling”, while analytical thinking involves breaking down a problem in a more logical and rational way. Typically, analytical thinkers tend to be higher in intelligence and stronger in cognitive skills , whereas intuitive thinkers are considered “lazy” in terms of taking the shortcut when making a decision.
Researchers found that intuitive thinkers were more likely to turn to their smartphone for answers rather than use their own brain to solve problems, while analytical thinkers with better cognitive processes spent less time on their phones. In other words, intuitive thinkers let the phone do the thinking for them – making them “lazier” thinkers than they originally were.
Source: Pixabay
These findings imply that increases in smartphone usage are associated with lower intelligence levels (although this does not mean that using a smartphone causes a decrease in intelligence – only that it is correlated with lower intelligence). Why did the results show this correlation? Perhaps smart people just don’t need to use their phones to solve problems as much as less intelligent people do. Regardless of the reason, further research is necessary to determine if smartphone usage actually does decrease intelligence levels.
All in all, humans are becoming more and more reliant on smartphones, turning to phones for answers that they are just too lazy to come up with themselves. If we are not aware of the dangers to our cognition that can result from smartphone usage, we can easily fall into the trap of relying too heavily on that little piece of technology in our hands, to the point where we no longer remember what life without it was like. While our phones are getting quicker, better and “smarter”, our society may be heading in the opposite direction. Unless we can amplify or strengthen our intelligence through modern technology, there is a chance that we may end up living in a world of smartphones…and dumb people.
Check out this inspirational video by Gary Turk for his opinion on how smartphones are impacting our world:
YouTube video courtesy of: Flamur Kastrati
Followed this link to the original video!
Posted by: Krystyna Pangilinan
